


Ice Becomes You

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Pridecember 2019 [13]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Skating, Alternate Universe - Sports, Fae & Fairies, Ice Skating, Loneliness, M/M, Pridecember, World Figure Skating Championships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22097986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: Seto has done it, he's acheived his goal, he's won gold....So why isn't he happy?
Relationships: Atem/Kaiba Seto
Series: Pridecember 2019 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560421
Kudos: 14





	Ice Becomes You

**Author's Note:**

> Day 13 of Pridecember "Sporty"- no, I will never choose anything for sports other than figure skating xD

_"Taking the gold for Japan, Seto Kaiba!!"_

Seto wondered why he wasn't happy

Not that he was dissatisfied with his win- he couldn't have possibly done more, both taking gold at the Grand Prix Finals and shattering his own world record, securing his place for Worlds

He had what some may have defined as a fairytale season

He did everything right and ruthlessly dominated the competition, taking every award, record, and slice of fame he could get his hands on, leaving his opponents practically in the dust

So yes, as he stood on the podium and held up his gold medal, he would define himself as satisfied

He would _not_ define himself as happy

But why?

What more could he want out of life than.... _this_?

Wasn't this what he had spent nearly his entire life doing?

Wasn't this what he had been working for for so long?

What his adoptive father had insisted he could never do, never make a life from, never succeed at, and yet had been proven wrong over?

Seto stood with a gold medal and a world record and at he age of only eighteen could taste the sweet delight of the Olympic team just around the corner

He had just barely missed the cut-off last time due to only qualifying for seniors _after_ the cut-off for the Olympic qualifications, but that wouldn't happen this time

He wasn't just one of the top athletes in Japan or even in Asia, he was one of the top athletes in the _world_ , and he didn't have any misgivings about where that would land him come time for the winter Olympics

Yet....

Despite what he had always wanted being so close, what he had strived for being literally wrapped around his neck now, he couldn't manage to feel happy

And he didn't know why

Leaving the rink felt surreal, and he bustled past reporters and paparazzi in a haze

He told himself he was going back to his hotel room but he couldn't quite manage to get there

Instead he found himself walking aimlessly through the streets of Barcelona, looking for something and nothing at all

He wanted _more_ , he had decided

But what did "more" really mean?

Another medal to add to the quickly growing pile of gold in his room?

Another world record to frame on the wall?

Maybe an Olympic title to adorn his Wikipedia page?

Would any of that make him any more happy than this?

It would satisfy him from a career standpoint, he knew, atleast for a moment, long enough to inhale, before it wasn't enough anymore and he started pushing desperately for the next level

But...

Would any of it make him _happy_?

He kept wandering through the snow, passing by trees and weaving in and out of the woods, how he had gotten there and where exactly "there" was he really didn't know, and he just kept expecting something to.... come to him

For some answer to hit him

But it didn't, ofcourse, it _wouldn't_ , how could it possibly?

Seto couldn't expect himself to have answers to the very questions he was asking- even _he_ wasn't _that_ unrealistic

After a moment, he came to a stop, at the edge of the woods, overlooking a frozen lake

He wondered what it all meant

What, in the big scheme of life, did the chunk of gold around his neck really _mean_?

Well, Mokuba would happy for him

He was probably waiting with Seto's manager, Isono- manager, not coach, because Seto was his own coach- back at the hotel, ready to practically scream with excitement

But Seto just felt empty

He slid his thumb over the gold peice and felt nothing

When had he become this hollow?

He took a deep breath of icy winter air and removed his hand from the medal, getting ready to go back to the monotony of it all, when he suddenly heard a very familiar sound

 _Skates_...

Skates as they skidded across the ice, stopped, and then hit it even harder than before- a jump...

His attention now thoroughly caught, he took a few steps further, totally out of the trees now and peering at the fullness of the lake, his breath catching in his throat, eyes wide, as he stared at the figure before him in amazement

There was someone skating across the frozen lake....

And he was _beautifull_

Skin as tan as dessert sand, body lithe and petite, his features were sharp and angular, giving an almost cat-like quality to them, his eyes deep red like rubies and his hair a mess of blonde and black and red, spiked out in some unnatural pattern

But none of that- as beautifull as it all was- really caught Seto's attention

Rather, it was the set of massive wings that adorned his back wich had caught Seto's eye

They were the same shades as his hair, in the same pattern- black at the base, red in the center, gold at the tips- like a bird's wings

They spread out around him as he glided across the ice, curled as he jumped and landed just as gracefully

His skates hit the ice with a smack but he stayed in perfect grace the entire time, dancing to music that only he could hear

Seto's mouth was dry

He had never felt like this before, this stunned, this.... _awed_

...

No, that was wrong, he _had_ felt like this once before

He had felt like this the first time he saw ice skating, and he knew that he wanted a peice of it, he knew that he wanted to be part of it, that he wanted to reach out and capture a small strand of that beauty for himself

That was how he felt now

Swallowing tightly, he slowly sat down on the bank leading to the lake, making note of the fact that he had gone unnoticed thus far by the faery- was he a faery? Seto assumed so- on the ice, and drawing his skates out of his bag

He hurried to put them on and stand up, walking to the edge before pulling off his guards and tossing them back to his bag, not losing his balance despite there being nothing for him to hold onto as he performed this task

He wasted no time from then, skating out onto the ice, not worrying for a moment about the ice possibly caving in beneath him

His focus was only on the faery

The faery was even more beautifull up close, with a slight darkness to his face, a flush from the cold, Seto was willing to bet, a figure skater's dress clung to his body, red and embedded with what looked like diamonds, and his skates....

His skates looked like they were made of _crystals_

Seto's own skates were made of gold, but he found himself actually being more fond of the stranger's

"So you finally decided to join me,"

The faery's voice was far deeper than Seto expected it, sent a chill through his spine that was entirely unrelated to the cold air

"How long have you known I was there?" Seto asked, following him across the ice, but not copying any of his moves for now

Seto had never pair-skated before, he wasn't used to anyone else being on the ice with him, and he didn't want to throw himself off by attempting something without having a good idea of his true range or dynamics just yet

"Since you first arrived, I wondered if you were just a spectator or if you were a dancer too," the stranger explained

Seto tried not to let the dryness of his mouth impede his speech

"I just won gold at the GPF,"

The faery paused, eyebrows raising as he slowly lowered his arms and skated closer, eyes scanning the length of Seto's body

"Gold...?" he repeated slowly, as though the concept were totally foreign, before reaching out and carefully taking the medal around Seto's neck in his hand, gliding his fingers across the now cold metal surface

Seto could practically see the gears in his head turning

"Ah yes.... you humans use these metal circles to determine your own worth at physical activity,"

Well when he put it that way it just sounded stupid

"You're awfully bold for a faery, aren't you supposed to be wary of humans? And yet you're out here skating in the open with your wings out,"

"To be fair, what humans come out here in the middle of the night, in the middle of the woods?" the stranger smirked back

"I did," Seto noted

"You did," the stranger agreed, his fingers still looped around the medal

For a moment, they were both quiet, before Seto spoke again

"Do you live around here?"

"That's subjective, I'm a traveler, I go between realms, so... yes and also no, I've been considering making more use of my time in the human realm, however,"

"Ever been to Japan?"

"Can't say that I have,"

"Would you like to go?"

"Are you offering?"

Seto's lips twitched slightly, curving upwards in amusement

"Your skating.... can all faeries skate like that?"

"No, it's a talent for us, just as it is for you,"

"And your wings.... do they help, or hinder?"

"Depends on what I'm doing, jumps they help, sit-spins they hinder,"

Oh, he knew the technical terms

That was a surprise

"I'm a world champion figure skater, I'll be going to the Olympics soon, do you know what that is?"

"Vaguely,"

"I want to win," Seto continued, not bothering to take the time to explain

"I want to win and I think you can help me, so....... come back to Japan with me, be my coach, I'll make it worth your wile,"

The faery looked rightfully stunned, he may not know who Seto was but it was clear that he understood atleast _some_ of the offer's gravity

"...Why? Why do you believe that I can help you? Didn't just say you were a champion all on your own?"

"Yes, but the Olympics aren't like Grand Prixs or Four Continents, they're something entirely different, and I don't just want to win, I want to _annihilate_ my competition, I want to show the entire world that I'm the best figure skater alive, and as it is now......... I know that something is missing, I think whatever that missing peice is, you can help me find it,"

Seto was arrogant, but no athlete was perfect, he knew that, there was just no such thing, and there was something fundamentally _missing_ from his performances, it had been for a wile now, he just couldn't quite label what it was

But watching the stranger skate, he could see it

He could see the missing peice, even if he still didn't have a name for it

"You would go through all this just to win a contest?" the faery smirked, clearly finding the idea amusing

"I would,"

But Seto wouldn't waver

Humming quietly to himself, the faery nodded, giving a small shrug

"Alright then, you have a deal, but I need to know first the name of the man I'll be working with,"

"Seto Kaiba," the athlete replied with a proud grin

The faery reached out, taking his hand and giving it a light shake

"My name is Atem, and I look forward to making you the best _human_ skater in the world, Seto Kaiba,"

"Human", Atem had said, sure to differentiate Seto from himself

That was alright for now, because Seto knew that someday, he would be better than even Atem

That was his goal now

That was what he would strive for, work for, compete for

 _That_ , he thought, would make him happy


End file.
